HEADTEACHER’S REPORT
JULY 2011
Report written by Rabbi Daniel Kerbel
for the Annual Report
This has been an incredibly hard year for everybody at North West. From Headteacher to Caretaker, Governors and Pupils, we have all worked under immense pressure and scrutiny. In over 25 years, North West has not seen so much change. A brand new Leadership Team, a new Deputy Head, a new caretaker, many new Staff and the departure of so many long standing members of Staff.
We experienced a choppy start with the Chagim meaning that it was weeks into the term before we actually had a full week of School.
Then came the October 2010 Ofsted inspection which subjected the School to immense pressure and scrutiny. All the promise of the future was shelved whilst we inquired as to why the School was not achieving at the levels we should be in terms of the Ofsted Framework success criteria.
Governors and Staff spent hours confronting the most difficult and uncomfortable questions, the purpose being to help our school achieve excellence in all areas.
At the same time, Staff continued to put in place the systems and structures they had planned for the year in order to drive the School forward. Leadership took into account Ofsted and parents’ opinions. We appointed priority area leaders for Leadership, Assessment, Teaching and Learning, and Behaviour. These key areas were the areas we had highlighted in our SEF (self–evaluation form) and were corroborated by the Ofsted report.
We self-evaluated and consulted with all stakeholders when putting together new policies such as the behaviour policy. We worked tirelessly to create working systems, evaluating and re-evaluating the impact so that we could keep striving to do better.
The Post-Ofsted Taskforce recommended that the School commission an independent Ofsted style inspection led by Ofsted inspectors. The Staff worked with diligence to achieve the best for our pupils, embracing this opportunity to measure our progress and success in providing the best learning experiences for our pupils.
When entering our learning environment it is so clear that the School looks better with beautiful displays. This was achieved through working as a community of staff, pupils and parents. The behaviour has improved. The Student Council confirmed that pupils felt behaviour both in class and in the playground is improving and they can see a difference. The data tells us that children are making more consistent and good progress. We have more accurate and clear data that allows for better monitoring and focus upon all children and most importantly we have not slipped in terms of achieving our outstanding end of KS2 (Yr 6) results.
When the Ofsted style inspection took place in June, the inspectors commended the Staff for their teamwork, togetherness and desire to want to do their best for the children. I am so immensely proud of my staff and the pupils for rising to the challenge under immense scrutiny and pressure and working so, so hard to help our School succeed through this year of change and development.
I am grateful to the Governors for not losing faith in our vision of an inclusive, successful school in which ‘Every Child Matters’ from our gifted and talented children, to those with specific special needs.
Despite the challenges, this was a year in which we filled the year full of exciting learning including:
The Netbook initiative starting in Yr 5 and Yr 3 with every child in the class receiving a Netbook (mini-laptop) was so exciting and Yr 5 in particular, have raced ahead in ICT terms. They have created avatars and produced animations amongst other adventures, making the study of Ancient Greece the most modern of experiences! Many of the classes travelled to the RM Learning Centre to experience the best in computer technology and had fun trying out the gadgets and cutting edge software and hardware.
We’ve had some really exciting outings this year and even made it as far as Gullivers Land on Sukkot. We also made it to the theatre amongst other exciting adventures.
We are keenly aware and respectful of other cultures and Ofsted commented on the outstanding Black history month assembly led by Yr 6. I have to admit that when Yr 6 sang “Everything’s gonna be alright…” with the Ofsted inspectors smiling, it did feel intensely spiritual!
Once again we hosted the ‘Explorer groups’ for Brent Gifted and Talented children and the exciting newsflash is that we may be leading the teacher input in this initiative next year for the borough.
Captain Pete came to visit. He was the Reception children’s ‘pen-pal’ in Afghanistan and as a School community we paid tribute to the dedication and sacrifice of the armed services.
This was the theme for our Mitzvah Day/Week, and we linked up with Christchurch Primary to make Christmas and Chanukah cards for soldiers posted abroad. This event was honoured by the presence of the Mayor of Brent.
The School Choir performed at Brent Town hall on Chanukah together with the London Cantorial singers.
Uncle Moishy turned up for his annual North West concert and this year Shooby Doo Shloimy also entertained us.
A Communal Purim Seuda, very well attended by North West families was held and as usual we had Matza Baking as well as Lag Ba’omer outings.
It was very exciting to resume an old North West tradition and once again, after a hiatus of approximately 20 years, we had a whole School photo which was so much fun as we gathered together praying that it wouldn’t rain.
The Summer funday was enjoyed by all who attended and the Pizza and Coffee shop made it super special!
Yr 6 went on their Skeet House residential and had great fun but the ultimate highlight was the “…Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles…” that was the Yr 6 production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. To witness the children delivering their lines with panache, enthusiasm and comic timing was so moving. To hear them sing “Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles…” made one realise that if we hold fast to our aspiration of aiming for our best (North West Be your Best) and our philosophy of ECM (Every Child Matters) we will achieve what we set out to do.
For the first time in years North West achieved 100% Level 4 in all the Sats tests. This means that all the children in that class who have been identified as having Special Needs still achieved the expected National Standard. Not only that but particularly in Numeracy we achieved 82% Level 5. This is our best result in years! We also almost matched last year’s excellent Literacy result of 63% level 5’s. In addition for the first time we conducted Teacher assessment at Level 6 which involves KS3 curriculum (High School) and two children achieved level 6’s.
I am very proud that as I write this I am constantly being interrupted by two Yr 6 pupils who are producing their own film for the AGPM. They are working with professionalism, pride and leadership.
In terms of our wider school provision, we managed to get swimming back on track this year by training a number of our Staff and parents who are now qualified swimming instructors. It is great to see all the Parents who come in to help with drying hair and changing, and the Nursery and Reception children are having a whale of a time in the swimming pool. Our swimming teams did so well largely due to the incredible Parental support and partnership role in leading the organising of the events. Parental partnership also played a massive role in providing so many opportunities for our Chess team to experience the stimulation of competition this year.
Early years is wonderful and I must pay tribute to the Nursery Team who have maintained a tremendous and happy learning environment including baking and going to their own jungle and many, many other great learning experiences. This is despite various circumstances dictating that we had 3 different lead Teachers in Nursery this year.
Reception have been to outer space and the excitement of the children climbing into rocket ships and reciting the names of the planets was palpable.
Yr 1 embarked upon the most exciting Literacy project when Floppy went missing and the School was plastered with posters offering rewards for help in finding him. Happily Floppy has since returned to Yr 1.
Yr 2 have been to the Victorian ‘seaside’ in the Beit Hamidrash and created a promenade, making souvenirs to sell.
Yr 3 love their artwork and have made moving monsters, ‘pattern’ t-shirts and Roman mosaics.
Yr 4 loved learning about area and space and planning kitchens and bedrooms. They enjoyed learning science through hands-on activities especially learning about reversible and irreversible change through chocolate tasting. In particular they loved their outing to the Princess Diana Memorial Park and the wonderful scavenger hunt.
Yr 5 visited many of our feeder Secondary schools on educational outings, led the way in ICT and did an incredibly stimulating Literacy project involving a book that explores
feelings and friendship.
Yr 6 performed brilliantly in their Sats, had a great residential trip and were outstanding at the Play production.
The Student Council raised the bar with ‘heats’ of ‘North West has talent’ and a grand finale with a wide range of talent on display.
The year is drawing to a close and looking back it has all been worth it!
Next year we will have less change but will maintain our focus upon the priority of Teaching and Learning. Our goal is for all children to be making meaningful progress whilst maintaining good behaviour and always, always aiming to be our best.
To sum up, a big thank you goes to all the Staff, Pupils, Parents and Governors for their tremendous input this year. I am aware that without each sector that makes up the community the school would not have moved forward as it has this year. We are all deserving of the summer break and we wish you all well over the holidays.